Google in the energy space

Hello,

Recently Google formed a partnership with GE and has made a number of investment in renewables including:

• Alta Rock Energy, Inc GeoThermal
• Potter Drilling GeoThermal
• SMU's Geothermal Lab
• Aptera.com - electric car
• eSolar - solar
• Makani Power wind
• ActaCell lithium ion batteries

These bits and bobs of information leave me wondering if Google is working on software for the smart grid.

Update: Google also has a blog for electric cars and batteries called RechargeIT.

-jk

Notes from Khosla's talk

Hello,

Yesterday I attended Vinod Khosla's presentation at PARC. It was very insightful. He is a hard nosed VC focusing on renewable energy and technologies which combat climate change. His mantra is "main Tech; not clean Tech".   Alternative energy must be cheaper than fossil fuels after the initial startup investment.  To win the climate challenge, the technologies must be designed with China and India in mind.

Here is a short list of companies to exemplify his philosophy. 

• KiOR converting biomass into bio-crude
• Transonic Combustion improving the gasoline engine efficiency for dramatically better mileage and lower greenhouse gas emissions
• Calera - "dedicated to reversing global warming and ocean acidification by trapping the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, in the built environment, proactively reducing the level of free carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere."
• EEStor has developed a type of capacitor for electricity storage
• Algenol Biofuels an innovative algae to ethanol company

You'll find a number of white papers and presentations here.

-jk

Plan for SF Bay Area electric car battery exchange stations plan

Hello,

Better Place is a startup who wants to supply the infrastructure for electric cars. Cars will be designed with a standard battery. Better Place provides both a recharging and exchange stations. If you driving locally, you can simply recharge the batters over night. If your driving for a longer distance, you'll stop at a exchange station. You pull in and the battery is swapped with a full changed battery. The have a contract with the country of Israel.

Today they announced a regional agreement with Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose. Here is the write up in the Chronicle.

-jk

Vinod Khosla @ PARC on Renewable energy

Hello,

Vinod Khosla will be speaking at PARC today on The Innovation Ecosystem: A Strategic Perspective on Renewable Energy.

-jk

SD Forum : transitioning to green panel

Hello,

SD Forum has organized a panel on transitioning your career to green on December 3rd. The VCs on this panel invest in this area. The execs are from wind and new building materials.

-jk

Silicon valley group talking about Solar Power

Hello,

While this isn't about the smart grid, it is related.  There is a new group in Silicon Valley focused on Solar Power.  It is called the Silicon Valley Photovoltaics Society. They meet monthly at PARC.

-jk

Broadband over powerlines.

Hello,

Glenn Fleishman wrote an interesting article with respect to broadband over powerlines on Ars Technica. It is entitled Stick a fork in it: a broadband over powerline post mortem.

-jk

Smart Grid Forum: a crossroads for cross pollination

Hello,

Upgrading the power grid is a huge effort. It will effect all of us. There are many stakeholders: power generators, government, utilities, IT, research labs, regulators, etc. There are a few national conferences

• GridWeek is the annual gathering in Washington, DC, of Smart Grid stakeholders and thought leaders.
• DR-Expo is a conference and exposition focused on delivering tangible information on the implementation of Demand Response in North America.
• Gridwise Expo

Texas based Clasma Events, Inc organizes these and related events.

What I do not see are either online groups or regional forums to talk about the smart grid.
People from a variety of backgrounds could feed off the work of others. Gaining insight and understanding requirements. Learning how other parts of the industry operate. Please leave a comment if you know of a group, forum or have an idea about forming such a group online or a regional forum.  I'm particularly interested in a regional forum in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

-jk

Connecting the power line to the home

Hello,

For network communication we need a physical layer. With the smart grid, the signals are send over the power line which is referred to as Broadband over power lines. Electrical power is transmitted at very high voltages. It is then stepped down via transformers twice before it reaches the consumer. Communication signals can't be passed through the transformers. So, repeaters must be attached to transformers to propagate the signal. This expense has people exploring using wireless solutions to connect the power line to the home.

-John

And so it begins

Hello,

Climate change is upon us. Many of the proposed solutions to the problem will require upgrading our power transmission grid.

• Electric cars will require a power grid which can distribute a lot more power.
• What if the power generators could automatically warn power consumers about peak periods. Appliances could postpone work. Imagine a wash machine which offered to run after 7PM.
• What if they regional utility could monitor the power grid and know about failures.

This blog is dedicated to understanding a 21st century grid.

-jk